Spherical game

ABSTRACT

A maze-like game featuring a non-linear, three-dimensional surface across which a ball having a relatively small distance is caused to move to follow a premarked path which is traced between and through certain holes communicating from the surface to a point exterior to the game.

[ 1 May 30, 1972 [54] SPHERICAL GAME [72] Inventor: David W. Gilchrist, 215 W. Water Street, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Elmira, NY. 14901 Canada... ..................................46/43 .m a .n r e m a OF 406 5 4 999 w w 627 222 mm 4 9 0 7 9 1 5 e 7 m3 J4 a N m .L M w F A 1.] 2 1 2 2 [1 y mm .m PA Cl dmv. mar. hr mfwm im I mm mmh mm E a w am m m nmn PAA 3 3 nmmm /7 6 654 b, & HA4 l N 0 mm BN2 Hm 3" 7 m in m "m LT hm td UmF H 555 [[1 ABSTRACT A maze-like game featuring a non-linear, three-dimensional surface across which a ball having a relatively small distance is caused to move to follow a premarked path which is traced References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS e h t m m f g .m t a c m u m m m. m o. E ce 5m n y m mm a m. m m 2, w. m hm .m l m; C 0... 5 r h.m o 00. na 0 nt Ce ec a ma bw XRWH 3311 MENU Mum m2 .S .S m m n w n ou a eaw .m K m Cm MOGH 8055 696 9899 1111 2498 .1941 0666 6640 205 2 3 3 PATENTEnmao m2 3, 666 269 INVENTOR AVID W. G LCHRIST F182 D I ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the field of games, one type which has an appeal to people of all ages and which can be adjusted so as to provide different degrees of difficulty is the maze. The simplest form of a maze is a two-dimensional labyrinth which provides the very minimum of difiiculty. Three-dimensional mazes have been developed featuring hollow objects and marbles, but these games characteristically require that the marbles be removed from the hollow objects. An example of this type of maze is disclosed in British Patent No. 4701 issued on Apr. 16, I898. The disadvantage of such a maze is that little emphasis is placed upon skillful manual dexterity. For example, the maze disclosed in the aforesaid British patent relies on fortuitous accident in extracting the marbles from the interior.

There has been developed a three-dimensional game which emphasizes manual dexterity to a great extent. An example of such a game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,801. The disadvantage of that type of game is that the purpose thereof is to confine the marble to movement along a straight path and in such a manner that little leeway is allowed in the speed of travel of the marble through the maze. It will be readily appreciated that such limitations restrict the amount of dexterity which can be developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This disclosure concerns a maze type of game, the purpose of which is to move a ball entirely along one surface of the maze in a three-dimensional path which has no linear portion thereto and which allows the user to proceed at any rate. It has been found that the non-linear characteristic of the path to be traveled by the ball adds greatly to the difficulty and, therefore, to the development of dexterity. Specifically, the disclosure provides for a maze-like game featuring a curved surface which is non-linear throughout and having a predetermined path marked thereupon, and a ball-like member the diameter of which is small compared to the radius of curvature of any portion of the surface. The surface has a plurality of trap holes positioned periodically along both sides of the predetermined path, the holes being especially adapted to cause the member to fall therethrough in the event it departs from the predetermined path. A convenient surface having these characteristics is an enclosed object having a hollow spherical interior.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a maze-like game which, by its lack of structural limitations, taxes manual dexterity to the utmost.

It is another object to provide such a manual dexterity game which is characterized by a predetermined path across a surface which, by its non-linearity is difficult to traverse, there being provided holes in the surface adjacent to the path which terminate the travel of a ball along the path in the event the path is not followed.

It is a related object of the invention to provide such a manual dexterity game which nevertheless allows comparison to be made between players due to the use of a predetermined path on the surface as opposed to random paths.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide such a maze-like game wherein the material of the surface permits constant viewing of the progress of the game.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon reference to the following drawings and detailed discussion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a prespective view of the maze-like game constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary prespective view of a particular portion of the game illustrated in FIG. 1, illustrating the ditch portion of the game.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention concerns a maze-like game which is intended to develop the manual dexterity of the player by causing him to move a ball-like member 10 across a constantly curving surface. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ball-like member 10, such as a marble, is required to move along a predetermined and premarked path 12 which is traced along the interior surface 14 of a three-dimensional object 16. The specific embodiment illustrated features a sphere 16 of which the interior surface 14 is also a sphere of slightly smaller diameter than the exterior diameter of the sphere 16. Thus, the curved interior surface 14 presents an entirely non-linear surface which challenges the player during his movement of the ball 10 thereover. As used in this application, non-linear surface means one across which no linear path can be traced.

To penalize the player in the event he allows the ball 10 to stray from the predetermined path 12, a plurality of trap holes 20 are positioned along the path throughout the entire circumference of the sphere 16. The dimensions of the trap holes are especially constructed so as to cause the ball 10 to fall out of the sphere 16 in the event the ball moves into any of the trap holes 20. The trap holes also serve to allow the ball to be reinserted into the sphere 16 in the event the ball 10 falls through one of the trap holes. It will be readily appreciated that the size and configuration of the trap holes can be varied throughout the sphere l6, and that the holes may be made smaller and further spaced apart for spheres intended to be used with children, thereby reducing the difficulty of the game. One interesting and challenging configuration which a trap hole can take is the half-moon configuration 22, FIG. 1, which necessitates the ball 10 traversing a loop-like path across the cul-de-sac-like portion 24.

A ditch hole 30 can be provided in the surface 14 which hole 30 is designed to delay, not terminate the passage of ball 10. The hole 30 is centered in the path 12 and has a width which is less than the diameter of the ball 10 so as to only detain the ball when it passes through that portion of the path 12, rather than permitting it to fall therethrough and out of the sphere 16 as is the case with the trap holes 20. (See FIG. 2.) Thus, the ditch hole 30 causes the ball temporarily to terminate its movement, requiring the player to give an additional impetus to the ball 10 to dislodge it therefrom. This additional impetus increases the difficulty in maintaining the balls movement along the path 12.

The material forming the sphere 16 is preferably transparent, to allow the player to determine at all times the location of the ball 10. The path 12 may be distinguished and defined by a sharply contrasting color such as a colored line. In cases where it is desired to reduce the degree of manual dexterity required to successfully complete the game, the path may be defined by a small and hollow groove which will have a very slightly tracking effect up on the ball 10. Again, the path may be visually identified by a colored line. Many synthetic plastics provide this feature. Also, as shown, the spherical surface 14 has a considerably larger radius of curvature than that of the ball 10 which in the case of a sphere allows a greater number of holes 20 to be included.

It will be readily apparent to one skilled that the game constituting the invention is utilized in the following fashion. The ball 10 is placed on the path 12 at a location which is marked Start. The sphere 16 is then rotated under the ball 10, thereby causing the ball to travel across the surface 14. The sphere must be rotated so as to maintain the position of the ball 10 vertically above the path 12, or else the ball moves into one of the trap holes 20 and falls out of the sphere 16. As the ball 10 moves along the path 12, it will encounter the ditch hole 30, where the ball 10 lodges temporarily until it is caused to move therefrom either by a considerable tilt in the surface 14 or by pushing the ball therefrom. In either case, the speed of departure of the ball 10 exceeds that which it might otherwise have, thereby increasing the difficulty in maintaining the movement of the ball 10 along the path 12. If the player is successful in traversing the path without falling through one of the trap holes 20, the ball returns to the initial *Start position, and the maze which characterizes the game has been successfully traversed.

Although the use of a constantly curving surface 14 enhances the difficulty and, therefore, increases the manual dexterity of the player, the provision of the predetermined path 12 on the surface 14 provides the necessary repeatability to allow different players to compete. Thus, the same conditions are encountered by each user as he attempts to follow the same path 12.

ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific spherical embodiment, it is not intended that the invention be so limited. For example, the three-dimensional object 16 could be a three-dimensional spiral, or the surface 14 could have more than one center of curvature. Thus, the sphere 16 disclosed above could have one portion thereof indented so that the center of curvature for the indented portion is located outside the sphere 16. Yet another change within the scope of this invention concerns the holes passing from the interior surface 14 to the exterior surface of the object 16. As indicated above, these holes can be any shape and size, provided all but the ditch holes 30 have dimensions which allow the ball to fall out of the three-dimensional object 16 when the ball moves into the hole. Furthermore, the ditch hole 30 can be eliminated entirely or used as many times as desired in the path 12. With regard to the path 12 specifically, the path shown in the drawings is only representative, any type of path utilizing any type of marking being permissible. Also, additional paths can be included on the surface 14 so as to vary the route which is to be taken by the players from contest to contest. Finally, where the radius of curvature of the surface 14 is very similar to the radius of the exterior surface of the sphere 16, the path 12 can be traced along the exterior surface rather than the interior surface, without an undue amount of parallax interferring with the guided movement of the ball 10 above such an exterior ath. p Accordingly, it is intended that the invention cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternate embodiments as may be included within the scope of the following claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A game comprising a three-dimensional object having a hollow interior bounded by a three-dimensional curved wall, said wall enclosing said hollow interior and having a plurality of openings therein, a three-dimensional tortuous path on the interior surface of said wall, said path circumscribing about the interior wall surface between said plurality of openings; means visibly marking said tortuous path on said wall surface so that said path is visibly delineated; and a ball member having a relatively small diameter compared to said object, said ball member being dimensioned to fit through at least some of said openings and adapted to follow said tortuous path by rolling on the interior surface of said wall of said object.

2. A game according to claim 1 and further comprising a ditch hole positioned in said tortuous path, said ditch hole being smaller than said ball member so that said ball member cannot pass therethrough.

3. A game according to claim 1 wherein said curved wall is transparent to permit visual observation through said wail of said ball member within said object.

4. A game comprising a spherical object having a hollow interior bounded by a spherical wall, said wall enclosing said hollow interior and having a plurality of openings therein, a three-dimensional tortuous path on the interior surface of said wall, said path circumscribing about the interior wall surface between said plurality of openings; and a ball member having a relatively small diameter compared to said object, said ball member heir? dimensioned to fit through at least some of said openings an adapted to follow said tortuous path by rolling on the interior surface of said wall of said object.

5. A game comprising a three-dimensional object having a hollow interior bounded by a three-dimensional curved wall, said wall enclosing said hollow interior and having a plurality of irregularly shaped openings therein, a three-dimensional tortuous path on the interior surface of said wall, said path circumscribing about the interior wall surface between said plurality of openings; and a ball member having a relatively small diameter compared to said object, said ball member being dimensioned to fit through at least some of said openings and adapted to follow said tortuous path by rolling on the interior surface of said wall of said object. 

1. A game comprising a three-dimensional object having a hollow interior bounded by a three-dimensional curved wall, said wall enclosing said hollow interior and having a plurality of openings therein, a three-dimensional tortuous path on the interior surface of said wall, said path circumscribing about the interior wall surface between said plurality of openings; means visibly marking said tortuous path on said wall surface so that said path is visibly delineated; and a ball member having a relatively small diaMeter compared to said object, said ball member being dimensioned to fit through at least some of said openings and adapted to follow said tortuous path by rolling on the interior surface of said wall of said object.
 2. A game according to claim 1 and further comprising a ditch hole positioned in said tortuous path, said ditch hole being smaller than said ball member so that said ball member cannot pass therethrough.
 3. A game according to claim 1 wherein said curved wall is transparent to permit visual observation through said wall of said ball member within said object.
 4. A game comprising a spherical object having a hollow interior bounded by a spherical wall, said wall enclosing said hollow interior and having a plurality of openings therein, a three-dimensional tortuous path on the interior surface of said wall, said path circumscribing about the interior wall surface between said plurality of openings; and a ball member having a relatively small diameter compared to said object, said ball member being dimensioned to fit through at least some of said openings and adapted to follow said tortuous path by rolling on the interior surface of said wall of said object.
 5. A game comprising a three-dimensional object having a hollow interior bounded by a three-dimensional curved wall, said wall enclosing said hollow interior and having a plurality of irregularly shaped openings therein, a three-dimensional tortuous path on the interior surface of said wall, said path circumscribing about the interior wall surface between said plurality of openings; and a ball member having a relatively small diameter compared to said object, said ball member being dimensioned to fit through at least some of said openings and adapted to follow said tortuous path by rolling on the interior surface of said wall of said object. 